Shares in Greggs rose on Wednesday after the bakery chain said it plans to expand to at least 3,500 stores across the UK following a jump in first-half profit.

The sausage roll maker reported a 20 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £76m in the six months to June, beating analysts’ expectations of £75m.

Greggs’ previous goal of reaching at least 3,000 UK locations had prompted questions in recent years about how much room the already widespread chain had left to grow. On Wednesday, however, the company reaffirmed its ambitions, telling shareholders that it has identified opportunities to build an estate of at least 3,500 bakeries in the UK.

Greggs shares climbed by more than 10 per cent in early trading to 1,862p.

Chief executive Roisin Currie said the company will focus on locations where it is currently “underrepresented,” including retail parks, train stations, airports and roadsides.

“There remains significant headroom for further growth,” she said. In towns and cities, Greggs plans to “optimise the distribution of shops” by relocating existing stores to “respond to local conditions,” she added.

The bakery said it recognises that opening new shops in busy areas can risk “cannibalising” sales from nearby locations, but said it is monitoring customer behaviour to reduce that effect.

While only half of last year’s new openings were in areas with no other Greggs within a mile, that share rose to 62 per cent among the 65 new shops opened in the first half of this year, suggesting the company is increasingly prioritising new catchments as it expands.

Greggs currently operates 2,773 locations across the UK, along with one overseas branch at Tenerife Airport, and it plans to open more than 100 new bakeries this year.

The company said new menu items, including a chicken sausage roll, a tandoori chicken pizza and iced matcha, are helping to drive sales. Revenue rose 7.2 per cent to £1.1bn in the first half of the year.

Currie said the stronger sales came despite “a challenging market characterised by subdued consumer confidence and increased uncertainty.”

Duncan Ferris, an analyst at Freetrade, said Greggs’ 2.1 per cent like-for-like growth figure appeared “more pedestrian,” suggesting the top line benefited from lower-than-expected inflation, structural savings and new store openings.

“But Greggs says performance of new stores was particularly strong, and that the majority of new openings were in locations more than a mile away from other branches. This may alleviate fears the bakery chain’s expansion is merely leavings its own stores competing with each other,” he said.

The FTSE 250 company said it is increasingly focusing on protein-rich and health-conscious food and drink as it looks to appeal to younger consumers.

“These launches reflect our focus on relevance and innovation, while staying true to the familiar quality that customers expect from Greggs,” Currie said.

The group is also expanding smaller-store formats, including its four “bitesized Greggs” shops and self-service coffee and sandwich machines.